Bus box construction



March 1968 R. ETTLINGER, JR., ETAL 3,

BUS BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. .18, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 hive/V7023 Ralph 2'ilingerJh Jbkrz 7Z2. IUeIch ZUiIlz'am .ZIeRqyZUaz ins United States Patent 3,374,923 BUS BOX CONSTRUCTION Ralph Ettlinger, Jr., Highland Park, Ill., and John M.

Welch and William Le Roy Watkins, Columbia, Mo.,

assignors to Raburn Products, Inc., Wheeling, 11]., a

corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 573,229 5 Claims. (Cl. 22097) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bus box construction for restaurants comprising a tray having bottom and side walls with a flat upper rim portion. The upper rim portion is provided for supporting dish racks whereby material from dishes placed on the racks will pass through the racks and be collected in the bus box. Notches are provided at the corners of the bus box, and beaded portions are formed in the bottom wall adjacent the corners to provide interlocking means whereby the bus box can be associated with a separate box located at a 45 angle thereto. The notches engage the upper rim of the separate box, and the beaded portions are received by depressions defined in the rim portion of the separate box.

This invention relates to a bus box construction designed for the handling of articles such as plate, cup and dish racks of the type commonly used in restaurants and in similar establishments.

In a typical operation involving the handling of large numbers of chinaware and glassware, automatic dishwashing machines are employed. In the use of these machines, dish racks designed for handling plates, cups, glasses and other dishes are often passed through the washing machines by means of conveyor constructions.

In order to provide the most efiicient operation, it is desirable to load dirty dishes on the dishwashing racks as they are picked up from tables. Thus, handling operations are materially reduced if dishes from a table or counter are placed directly on to a rack which then can be placed directly into the dishwashing machine.

In a restaurant operation, the cups, bowls, and glasses to be picked up will often be partially filled with food or drink. The bulk of this material must be removed before the ware passes through a dishwashing machine and, accordingly, means must be provided for collecting this material if workers are to place the ware directly on dishwashing racks as they pick them up.

Some operations provide large containers which are carried by the workers as they pick up dirty dishes. The workers then empty the unfinished food into these containers before placing the china or glasses on a dishwash ing rack.

In application Ser. No. 510,197, for Bus Box, there is described a construction which serves to eliminate the extra handling operation required when workers must empty ware before placing them on dishwashing racks. The bus box construction described in this application comprises a tray having enclosed bottom and side walls with upstanding means defined within the tray. A dishwashing rack is placed on the upstanding means defined by the tray whereby the rack is maintained in spacedapart relationship with respect to the bottom wall of the tray. With this arrangement, workers can place chinaware and glassware on the dishwashing rack, and the contents will then fall through the openings in the rack whereby the contents will be collected within the bus box. Accordingly, the single operation of placing ware on the rack accomplishes the emptying. Where the dishwashing racks are of the type adapted to be stacked when filled, a plurality of racks can be placed on top of each other and the waste will drain through the racks into the bus box.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved bus box construction which accomplishes the advantages of the construction described in the aforementioned application while providing additional features making the box particularly useful for restaurant operations.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide an improved bus box construction which is adapted to be employed in conjunction with dishwashing racks whereby dirty chinaware and glassware can be placed on the racks without requiring a separate emptying operation, whereby a plurality of racks can be stacked in the bus box while collecting all waste material, and whereby the bus box constructions can be associated with conventional restaurant equipment to facilitate incorporation into existing operations.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a bus box construction which is characterized by means permitting stacking of a plurality of the bus boxes whereby they can be efficiently handled and whereby waste holding capacity is increased so that several of the boxes can be employed in a single operation to thereby increase the number of racks which can be stacked.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a bus box construction characterized by the features of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation illustrating the manner in which the boxes are stacked;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken about the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the interlocking elements which characterize the construction; and,

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the bus box construction can be associated with other restaurant equipment.

The construction of this invention generally comprises a tray defining closed bottom and side walls. The tray is designed to serve as a bus box since racks designed for receiving various restaurant articles are adapted to be disposed on top of the tray. With this arrangement, food and drink remaining on the ware will pass through the rack into the well defined by the bottom and side walls of the bus box construction. It will be appreciated when considering the following description that the references to restaurant articles are made primarily for purposes of identifying the type of goods handled by the bus box. Obviously, the claims appended hereto are intended to apply to constructions which are capable of functioning in association with restaurant articles even though the actual operation does not involve a restaurant in the traditional sense. Thus, various large operations such as hospitals, and schools may utilize the construction of this in vention in association with dishes and dishwashing racks even though these operations are not, strictly speaking, restaurants.

An important feature of the instant invention relates to the ability of the bus box constructions to be interlocked whereby the construction can be stacked in a highly eflicient manner. The interlocking means comprises a combination of notches, recesses and protruding members whereby stacks of the bus boxes are characterized by stability during storage as well as during use.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred arrangement embodying the characteristics of the instant invention. The bus box constructions 10 comprise a bottom wall 12 and side walls 14. The side walls taper upwardly from the bottom wall, and a flat strip 16 defines the upper surface of the construction. This strip extends all around the periphery of the construction and it serves as a convenient means for supporting dishwashing racks located on the construction.

The bottom wall 14 defines ribs 19 which serve as reinforcing means for the construction. The side walls 14 curve inwardly at intermediate points 20 whereby large hand gripping areas are formed.

As will be more fully explained, it is desirable to provide an arrangement wherein the bus box constructions can be stacked so that diagonal lines extending from corner to corner of one construction will be disposed at 45 angles with respect to the diagonals of immediately adjacent constructions. FIGURES 1 and 2 illustrate how the trays appear when stacked in this manner.

Since the trays 10 are employed for holding food wastes, it is important to provide stability, particularly when the trays are stacked since otherwise the waste held by the trays could readily be spilled. To provide for suitable stacking, the trays of this invention define protruding elements 22 extending outwardly from the bottom walls of the trays. Recesses 24 are defined in the top surface adjacent the curved areas 20. As noted in FIGURE 4, the protruding elements 22 fit into the recesses 24 whereby the trays will be held against rotary movement with respect to each other. Since the protruding elements 22 are defined adjacent the corners of the trays, the mating of the protruding elements and recesses 24 takes place when the respective diagonals of the trays are disposed at 45 with respect to each other.

Additional interlocking action is achieved due to the formation of notches 26 in the side walls 14. These notches are formed at the corners of the construction. When the trays are stacked in the desired 45 arrangement, the notches 26 receive an upstanding ridge 28 formed about the periphery of the construction. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the ridge 28 comprises an upturned continuation of the flat strip area 18.

The combination of the interlocking action achieved by the protruding elements and recesses as well as by the notches and ridges provides an ideal combination. Thus, any tendency for the trays to rotate about their vertical axes and to thereby depart from the 45 disposition is resisted by the protruding elements and. recesses. Shifting action of the trays is resisted due to the fitting of the notches around the ridges. This prevents spilling of the contents, for example, if a stack of trays were accidentally jostled.

FIGURE illustrates one arrangement which will advantageously accommodate the trays of this invention. The cart construction 30 includes a shelf 32 which is mounted on resiliently disposed cylinders 34. A bus box is disposed on the shelf 32, and dishwashing racks 36 are located above the bus box. It will be apparent that the cart 30 can be advantageously moved along while dirty ware is placed in the racks. The contents of the china and glasses will pass through the open network defined by the racks and collect in the well defined by the bus box. As the number of racks increases, the shelf 32 will be automatically lower in accordance with the conventional design of the cart illustrated. Additional empty racks 36 areadvantageously stored in the bottom of the cart.

The stacking arrangement of FIGURE 2 is of advantage where a particularly large amount of dishes and a correspondingly large amount of waste is encountered. It will be noted that the 45 stacking leaves an opening 38 at the corners of each box. Accordingly, workers can place waste in these openings in addition to collecting waste in the top bus box through normal passage of the waste through the racks.

As noted in FIGURE 5, the bus box of this invention can be designed for use in association with conventional restaurant equipment. Thus, the location of a rack 36 within the confines of the ridge 28 provides for secure placement of the racks without adding appreciably to the size of the assembly. The bus box design is adapted to handle work for large installations and, in this connection, the handle arrangement provided by the curvature 20 in the side walls is particularly advantageous since the bus boxes can become quite heavy when a large amount of waste is encountered.

The bus box construction is designed whereby it can be produced in a highly efiicient manner. It will be noted that the construction does not include any areas which present difficult problems from a molding standpoint. Thus, there are no return portions or exaggerated departures from the basic lines which would require expensive molding techniques. Accordingly, the construction can be formed of materials such as high heat impact styrene without difiiculty.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction described above which provide the characteristics of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof particularly as defined in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. A bus box construction for restaurants comprising a rectangular shaped tray defining bottom and side walls, a horizontally disposed upper rim portion in the form of a flat peripheral strip extending outwardly from said side walls, said strip comprising a supporting surface for dish racks disposed on said construction whereby the racks are held in spaced apart relationship with respect to the bottom wall of the construction, and including interlocking means which provide for stacking of trays one upon the other with diagonals of the respective trays positioned at 45 angles relative to each other, said interlocking means comprising notches formed at the corners of said trays, the notches of an upper tray being adapted to receive the rim of a lower tray when the trays are stacked, protruding members extending outwardly from the bottom surfaces of said trays adjacent the corners, and depressions defined by said peripheral strip at points intermediate said corners whereby the protrusions of an upper tray are received in the depressions of a lower tray when the trays are stacked.

2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including an upstanding ridge formed at the outer edge of said peripheral strip, said notches being adapted to receive said ridges when one tray is stacked on another tray.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein side walls of said trays taper inwardly from said peripheral strip to said bottom wall, and wherein said notches comprise indented portions formed at the junctures of said side walls near said bottom wall.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 3 wherein said notches are formed at each of the four corners of said trays and wherein said protruding members comprise beads positioned along each diagonal of the trays at points located immediately inwardly of said notches.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said side walls curve inwardly at intermediate portions to thereby form handle means for the construction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,469,645 10/ 1923 Kobbe.

3,197,058 7/1965 Hale 220-236 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,363,346 5/1964 France.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Assistant Examiner. 

